By Gina Caswell Kelly
I came across a column I had written lots of years ago, recently. It was about listening to the Father’s heart. I loved the message of it so much, I wanted to share it again today. I don’t repeat it very often, but this one is one of my favorites. So here we go.
As I write this, I am sitting in the hospital waiting for my dad to have heart surgery. I spent the night with him last night. I was busy thinking of all the things I had to get done, and all the people that were stepping up for me to make sure all those “things” got done. The one thing that no one could do for me that needed to be done was the writing of this column.
As I sat there, I was remembering a column I had written some years earlier about a man getting to hear his father’s heartbeat through a stethoscope. I watched as the nurses came in through the night to hear my daddy’s heartbeat. They each got just a little more heart than they bargained for.
Even though Daddy was a bit frightened and confused at times about what was to take place, he took time with each nurse, each aide, each housekeeper, and even each doctor that came in. He shared his heart with each one. He quietly told stories of his life in service to God. He quoted scripture. He bragged on their work. He thanked them for each thing they did. One by one, those who worked in the hospital began to have a brighter smile, and began to linger just a little longer with this man whose heart required no stethoscope to hear its beating.
When they finally came to take him back to surgery, I had been thinking I would say a prayer with him before they left. But no. With those who worked at the hospital standing there, Daddy just easily offered the words I likely could not have expressed. I was amazed as I saw his calmness and the ease with which he accepted what was before him. As I watched him and listened to him, I heard not only his heart, but also the heart of the Father, which has always sounded the loudest in his life.
Later, as I watched him in recovery, I could see all the machines and wires and tubes connected to various things that gave a colorful readout of all his heart was doing. It was comforting to see all that, but of more comfort to me was the knowing that I had already seen what a heart could do when it is totally dedicated to following the beat of the Father’s heart.
Listen to your Father’s heart. It will make a difference.
Listen here:
